Your pilgrimage begins as you depart the USA on an overnight flight.

You will be welcomed at the Tel Aviv airport by our representative and transferred to your hotel in Jerusalem to enjoy dinner before retiring for the night.

Stand on the Mount of Olives for a remarkable view of the “Golden City” of Jerusalem and consider that this is the final place Jesus stood before ascending into heaven forty days after His resurrection. Walk the Palm Sunday Road and enter the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus went to pray after the Last Supper and was arrested. Meditate on the events of the Last Supper as you visit the traditional location of the Upper Room (Mark 14: 12-26). Continue to Mount Zion to visit the House of the High Priest Caiaphas, where some say Jesus was questioned the night of His betrayal (Matt. 26:57). Nearby is the site of King David’s Tomb.

Today, experience the Galilee as Jesus knew it. Stand on the Mount of Beatitudes and recall the Sermon on the Mount. Visit Capernaum, center of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, and visit the synagogue built on the site where Jesus taught (Matthew 4:13, 23). Worship as you sail across the Sea of Galilee. Enjoy a fish lunch together as though you have joined Jesus and Peter on shore. At Kibbutz Nof Ginosar, you’ll learn about the “ancient boat,” a rare example of the kind of boat in which Jesus would have sailed. Recall Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist at the Jordan River; you will have the opportunity to be baptized.

Visit the Haas Promenade and enjoy a panoramic view from the south of Jerusalem, the Old City walls and the hill called Mount Moriah, where Abraham was commanded by God to offer Isaac as a burnt offering (Gen. 22: 2, 4). Visit the Southern Wall Excavations of the ancient Temple, including the Teaching Steps and the Western Wall. Pray at the Western Wall, whose 2,000-year-old stones were a part of the retaining wall for the Herodian Temple Mount complex. Enjoy some free time for shopping on Ben Yehuda Street.

Wander through the Roman aqueduct and theater at Caesarea, a center of early Christianity. Here, Cornelius became the first Gentile convert to the new covenant (Acts 10) and Paul was imprisoned before being taken to Rome for trial (Acts 23). Look out over the Valley of Jezreel from the heights of Mount Carmel, where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). Look out over Tel Megiddo (Armageddon) to view one of the most important archaeological sites in Israel. Visit Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus (Matthew 2:23).

Enjoy a visit to the intriguing Masada, the spectacular mountaintop fortress built by Herod that later became the final tragic stronghold of the Jewish rebellion against the Romans. Ride the cable car to the top to explore the fortress and look down upon the remains of the Roman camps and siege ramp below. Walk the remains of an ancient community near the shores of the Dead Sea at Qumran. Bedouins discovered what became known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Stop at the shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on earth, where those who desire may take a quick dip in the mineral-laden waters. Travel to Jericho and visit the ruins of the ancient city, which was conquered by Joshua (Josh. 6: 1, 2, 20).

Explore the poignant exhibits of Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Memorial. In Jerusalem, explore the Israel Museum with its first-century model of the City of Jerusalem. Another highlight is the museum’s Shrine of the Book exhibit displaying the Dead Sea Scroll book of Isaiah. Nearby, you’ll view Shepherds’ Field, where the Good News was first heard.

In the Old City, visit St. Anne’s Church and experience the amazing acoustics of this beautiful cathedral. View the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-31), where Jesus performed the Sabbath miracle. Visit the Jewish Quarter of the Old City and see the ancient Cardo. Take time to reflect on the agony of the cross at Gordon’s Calvary and celebrate the resurrection with a time of communion at the Garden Tomb.

Those on early morning flights will transfer to the airport this morning for your flights. Arrive in the USA today.